Secret Girlfriend
by write-me-well
Summary: "What was I supposed to do? Yell 'property of Tony Stark' and run away? I can't really do that, now can I?" Tony/Pepper, set somewhere after IM2


Secret Girlfriend

Chapter 1

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Happy Hogan pulled up to Tony Stark's Malibu home and quickly jumped out of the car to hold the door open for one Pepper Potts. She smiled at him graciously and began walking towards the door, giving him a small wave over her shoulder.

"Will you be needing a ride later?" He asked.

"No, I anticipate that this," she held up a stack of papers in a thick folder, "might take a while."

Of course she wouldn't need a ride later because she'd be spending the night with Mr. Stark, but as they'd opted to keep their relationship a secret, she would stay under the guise of work. Initially Tony had been worried for her safety, given that as Ironman he was bound to have enemies, but sometimes she suspected he enjoyed the thrill of having a "secret girlfriend."

She turned back towards the house again when Happy caught her wrist carefully. He blushed as she turned around and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Pepper, I was going to wait for a better time, but the boss always keeps you so busy. I don't really know where to start." He hesitated.

Pepper shot him an encouraging smile, though she had no idea what the man was going on about. She gathered that perhaps he wanted her to talk to Tony about his vacation time or even a raise.

"I guess I'll just jump right in. I think you're beautiful, and funny, and you've become such an important part of my life."

Her mouth dropped open, she had not seen this coming. She wanted to stop him, but it was too late, he was on a roll.

"I know that you don't have a lot of free time, but I think we could still make it work. I mean, I understand the job and the hours and we'd still be able to spend time together. I think maybe we would be a perfect match." He rambled, taking her small hand in his own.

She stood completely still, her eyes growing wider by the second. Happy misinterpreted her silence and leaned in to kiss her. Pepper's hands flew up in shock and she delicately pulled away from his embrace. He looked at her earnestly and brushed a wisp of hair out of her eyes.

"I love you Pepper." He whispered.

Pepper closed her eyes. "Oh Happy." She breathed.

"Don't say anything now. Just think about it, okay?"

"I'm seeing someone already." She blurted out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just like to keep my personal life separate from work. I'm so sorry Happy."

"No, I mean, of course you're seeing someone." He chided himself. "I'm sorry, for putting you in this position."

"No, don't apologize Happy. Don't ever apologize."

"Let's just, let's just forget this ever happened. Alright?" He stuttered.

"Okay." She agreed. "Happy, you know I care about you, right?"

"Yeah, of course." He sighed. "Have a good night Miss Potts."

He walked quickly back to the sedan and drove off, leaving a very rattled Pepper standing in the driveway. She stood there for another moment, trying to process what had just happened and then walked towards the door.

"Hello Jarvis." She called as she entered the house.

"Hello Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is currently in the kitchen."

"Thank you." She said, dropping her folders on the living room table and slipping off her heels as she made her way to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" She asked, trying to suppress a grin at the sight of Tony stirring some sort of sauce at the stove.

"Making dinner for my secret girlfriend, is that a crime?"

"You know you're going to slip and call me that in front of someone and our cover will be blown." She teased, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"What kind of hello is that?" He asked, lifting her up onto the counter and standing between her knees, with his arms around her waist.

She dropped her head onto his shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible.

"I'm sorry Miss Potts, I didn't quite catch that." He laughed.

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I said I have to tell you something."

"Well, this seems serious." He pretended to take a step back.

She closed her eyes and scrunched her nose before beginning. "Happy kissed me."

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said that my driver kissed you." He deadpanned.

When she didn't say anything he continued. "And what did you do when this was all going down?"

"I just stood there. I was in shock Tony."

"You stood there." He repeated.

"What was I supposed to do? Yell 'property of Tony Stark' and run away? I can't really do that, now can I?"

"You stood there, when I have been the absolute poster boy of monogamy? Do you think I haven't had any opportunities to kiss other women?"

"Of course you have, I watch them flock all over you at every opportunity." She spat.

"Oh, touched a nerve, have we? Good, because that's about the same way I feel about you kissing Happy."

"You're so infuriating, I didn't kiss Happy. He kissed me!"

"Semantics!" Tony yelled, turning to stir the sauce on the stove.

"Are we really fighting about this?" Pepper grumbled.

"Well, did you think I was going to give you a high five?"

"I didn't ask for him to kiss me. Besides, I told him I was seeing someone."

Tony turned slowly on his heel, a small smirk on his face. "Oh did you now?"

"Yes, I did and I can tell you that he was not very pleased with the situation, so stop gloating." She reprimanded.

"He kissed my girlfriend, I'm allowed to gloat a little." He argued.

"He's your friend, so no you're not." She said with an air of finality.

"_Fine_." He whined. "Dinner's just about ready. Do you want to go wash up or anything? I mean, you have been running around kissing other men." He teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him in response and he laughed.

"Too soon?" He asked, brown eyes twinkling.

She rolled her eyes at him and then turned serious. "You can't let Happy know that I told you, he'd be mortified."

"Well, as much as I'd like to give him a piece of my mind, that's not really an option, so my lips are sealed."

"Thank you." She said, hopping down from the counter and leaning into his side.

Tony smiled and wrapped his arm around her, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"But seriously, go brush your teeth. I can't kiss you with Happy all over your face."

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A/N: Well, Pepperony just won't leave me alone and this was one of the results. Let me know what you think :)


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